Alienation in Frankenstein

The author carefully developed the theme of alienation and its incidental hostility increase among the characters all the way through the novel. The choice of this theme for this research paper is imperative because alienation is one of the issues that almost every character in the novel experienced. This paper is divided into separate parts each explaining the degree of alienation that the character Victor Frankenstein experienced from his childhood up to the moment he created the monster (Brannstrom 9). Therefore, this paper will provide a succinct analysis of the theme of alienation with a narrow focus on one character, Victor Frankenstein. Alienation at birth One of the most crucial aspects that can help one understand the theme of alienation in Frankenstein is the consideration of Mary Shelley’s life circumstances (Smolka 5).

It usually occurs when an individual stumbles out of the normal societal realms as this is usually perceived as a violation or a threat to the society. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein undoubtedly provides various form of alienation. Alienation in this novel can be defined as the loss of attachments to things, people or objects as a result of either psychological or sociological phenomena. After he left his home town for studies as a young boy, it never seemed to bother Victor that he needed to be around his family. He focused his attention entirely on his Studies which as a student in Ingolstadt (Sarkar 29). In some instances during his tender years, he used to lock himself away from other people to pursue his studies.

His ambitions to create a new life after the death of his mother made it impossible for other people to understand (Mary & Paul 26). Alienation as a scientist The fascination with science was not something that Victor acquired during his adulthood but was a result of “a student’s thirst for knowledge. ” In fact, he indicates that “my father was not scientific”, therefore, indicating that the alienation as a scientist was to some extend self-imposed from childhood. Victor Frankenstein engagement in the scientific field is proven when he failed to think lovingly of both his family and Elizabeth (Sarkar 30). The scientific work tremendously changed Victor to a sickly and selfish individual who was previously characterized by his kindness, gentleness and a healthy man.

However, Victor Frankenstein alienation as a scientist and a scholar is nothing compared to the experience of alienation he endured after the birth of the monster. The guilt grew stronger than his previous experiences of alienation as a scholar. Victor found himself in a position that the blame for the monster can be laid. This made him be filled with shame and terror for violating the law of nature in which he presumed to play the role of God, the creator (Sarkar 31). The creation of the monster was an opportunity for Victor to learn that loneliness was a family counterpart and that the evil impetus was in some instances created by loneliness (Sarkar 29). Moreover, what can destroy the evil which is created except the family? This is evident after the creation of monster which insisted on being part of its creator’s family.

The monster understood that the only anchor to the social world was the family companion. Alienation from the rest of the world As much as the experiment caused Victor to alienate himself from friends, family and the entire world, the creation of the monster and keeping the secrets of its creation was the primary cause of Victor’s abstinence from society’s association. After he had concluded the experiment, Victor realized that he had made a grievous mistake. The author presented a ship that was isolated and depicted it as an isolated vessel leading to unknown destination. The two characters that met in the vessel, Victor Frankenstein and Walton are also isolated uniquely (Mary & Paul 6). This precisely provided the author with a meeting point where the isolated characters established the theme of alienation.